Wednesday, May 10, 2017

My birthday is coming up and I've decided to make an old private tradition very public. Join me for this one-night-only screening of what I very earnestly believe to be one of the greatest cinematic triumphs of the late 20th century, Alejandro Jodorowsky's absolutely devastating masterpiece of psychological terror and heart-rending beauty, SANTA SANGRE (1989)!

Loosely based on the presumably true story of a convicted Mexican serial killer who is released from a mental hospital only to become entangled in the familial roots of his madness, acclaimed Chilean-Russian-French auteur Jodorowsky tosses every sacred cow and Freudian symbol into the meat grinder as he propels his audience on a violent mythological journey into the very darkest night of the soul. At turns hilarious, horrifying and utterly perplexing, SANTE SANGRE is ultimately more linear than his more infamous films EL TOPO (1970) and HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973), but is all the more impactful for its serrated clarity of vision. Filmed entirely on location in Mexico City (employing dozens of real prostitutes, circus freaks and riot police), and produced/co-written by Claudio Argento (SUSPIRIA, DEEP RED, DAWN OF THE DEAD, etc.), SANTA SANGRE is a master filmmaker's love poem to the rich history of horror cinema even as it spirals toward the most outer fringes of genre.

The newly restored digital transfer of the original uncut negative that we will be screening will be nothing less than a rite of passage for your eyeballs (and ears!) on the massive Hollywood Theatre screen. You have been warned. Tickets available NOW. Bring your mom.